Wearable holder pad for a mobile computing device

ABSTRACT

Described is a pad for interposition between a limb of a user and an apparatus to be attached to the limb. The pad comprises a first cushion element extending along a first portion of a first side of the pad and a second cushion element extending along a first portion of a second side of the pad. The first and second cushion elements are separated from one another by a first reduced thickness area which, when the pad is mounted in a desired orientation, extends between the first and second cushion elements substantially along a longitudinal axis of the limb so that, when interposed between the limb and the apparatus attached thereto, the pad bends along the longitudinal axis to maintain the first and second cushion elements and the reduced thickness area in contact with the limb.

BACKGROUND

Conventional mobile terminals are used in a variety of environments. Incertain situations, it is advantageous to have the mobile terminals wornon an area of the body, particularly a limb. Conventional technologyallows mobile terminals to be worn using straps, clips, etc. However,sometimes, this technology does not allow a user to comfortably wear themobile terminal. One cause is the differences in shape and circumferenceof the limb of the user, not only the differences between users, butalso within a single user.

Although conventional designs allow for a “one size fits all” scheme,there is usually an optimal size for use of the wearing mechanism.Deviations (e.g., too large or too small) from that optimal size creategaps or spaces that do not allow the mobile terminal to be held flushagainst the user's skin. FIGS. 1 a-b show exemplary arms 10, 20 with aconventional wearing mechanism 30. In FIG. 1 a, the wearing mechanism 30is not flush against the surface of a thin arm 10. This results inoutside gaps 40 forming. These outside gaps 40 allow the wearingmechanism 30 and any mechanism attached to it to rotate around or slideup and down the thin arm 10. In FIG. 1 b, the wearing mechanism 30 isalso not flush against the surface of a thick arm 20. This results in aninside gap 50 forming. In this instance, the wearing mechanism 30 maynot be prone to unwanted movement (e.g., rotating, sliding, etc.), butit is uncomfortable for the user. In addition, those skilled in the artwill understand that an arm does not maintain a constant radius as thearm extends from the wrist to the elbow. The conventional wearingmechanism 30 may start with the thin arm 10 with outside gaps 40 but mayend with the thick arm 20 with the inside gap 50. This combinationresults in both unwanted movement and discomfort. Thus, there is a needfor a wearable holder pad which complements a wearing mechanism for amobile terminal and which is compatible for all users of differingsizes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a pad for interposition between a limbof a user and an apparatus to be attached to the limb. The pad comprisesa first cushion element extending along a first portion of a first sideof the pad and a second cushion element extending along a first portionof a second side of the pad. The first and second cushion elements areseparated from one another by a first reduced thickness area which, whenthe pad is mounted in a desired orientation, extends between the firstand second cushion elements substantially along a longitudinal axis ofthe limb so that, when interposed between the limb and the apparatusattached thereto, the pad bends along the longitudinal axis to maintainthe first and second cushion elements and the reduced thickness area incontact with the limb.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 a-b shows exemplary arms using a conventional wearing mechanism;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a top side of a wearable holder padaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a bottom side of the wearable holderpad according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4 a-d shows component layers of the wearable holder pad shown inFIGS. 2-3;

FIG. 5 shows a cross sectional view of the wearable holder pad shown inFIGS. 2-3;

FIGS. 6 a-b shows exemplary arms using the wearable holder pad shown inFIGS. 2-3;

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary use of the wearable holder pad shown in FIGS.2-3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention may be further understood with reference to thefollowing description and the appended drawings, wherein like elementsare referred to with the same reference numerals. The exemplaryembodiment of the present invention describes a wearable holder pad(hereinafter “wearable pad”) with extensions (hereinafter “wings”) andthick areas (hereinafter “thickeners”) that complements a wearingmechanism for use with mobile terminals. Those skilled in the art willunderstand that the wearable pad is interposed between a surface (e.g.,a limb) and the wearing mechanism (e.g., apparatus to be attached to thelimb). The wearable pad, wings, and thickeners will be discussed indetail below.

It should be noted that the following description will describe the useof the invention with respect to an arm, and, in particular, in the areaaround the user's wrist. However, those skilled in the art willunderstand that the use of a wrist is only exemplary and that thepresent invention may be applied to any surface, whether rounded or not.In addition, a desired orientation of the present invention is on an armalong the length of the arm (i.e., longitudinal axis) instead ofcircumnavigating the width of it.

FIGS. 2-3 show a perspective view of a top side and a bottom side,respectively, of a wearable pad with wings and thickeners according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Components of thewearable pad 100, shown in FIG. 2, may include stiffeners 102, a mainpad 101, a loop material 104, wings 105, and an edge banding 107.Components of the wearable pad 100, shown in FIG. 3, may include themain pad 101, the wings 105, thickeners 106, and the edge banding 107.

The main pad 101 is a base layer that the other components of thewearable pad 100 may be attached to. In the exemplary embodiments, themain pad 101 exhibits a bow-tie shape. The main pad 101 may bemanufactured using a breathable material such as mesh, gauze, perforatedpolymer, etc. In the exemplary embodiment, the top side of the main pad101 exhibits a ventilation that is greater than the ventilation allowedby the bottom side of the main pad 101. Those skilled in the art willunderstand that a higher ventilation may be accomplished using similarmaterials by using a loosely weaved mesh or gauze or using a perforatedpolymer with wider and/or more pores. In the exemplary embodiment, themain pad 101 may also be manufactured using a material that allows forthe other components to be attached easily using conventional attachmentmethods (e.g., sewing, adhesives, etc.). Furthermore, the main pad 101of the exemplary embodiment may be manufactured using a flexiblematerial that is adjustable to be worn on any surface, in particular, awrist. The flexible material of the main pad 101 allows the wearable pad100 to conform to the shape of the wrist and the wearing mechanism wheninterposed in between them. It should be noted that the bow-tie shape ofthe main pad 101 is only exemplary and that other shapes (e.g., anellipse, a rectangle, etc.) may be used depending on furtherapplications of the wearable pad 100. It should also be noted that theuse of a breathable material to manufacture the main pad 101 is onlyexemplary and that a non-breathable material or stiffer material such asplastics may be used depending on further applications of the wearablepad 100.

The stiffeners 102 are used to provide a semi-rigid component for thewearable pad 100. The stiffeners 102 are semi-rigid because they allowsome bending for the wearable pad 100 to adjust its shape to the surfaceit is used on. The semi-rigid properties of the stiffeners 102 alsoallow the wearable pad 100 to substantially hold the shape of the wristand the wearing mechanism when the wearable pad 100 is interposedbetween them. The stiffeners 102 are disposed substantiallyperpendicular to the long side of the wearable pad 100. In the exemplaryembodiment, the stiffeners 102 may be manufactured of a flexible rubber.It should be noted that the use of rubber is only exemplary and thatother materials may be used to manufacture the stiffeners 102, such asflexible plastics. Those skilled in the art will understand that the useof stiffeners 102 is only exemplary and that the wearable pad 100 may bemanufactured without any stiffeners.

The loop material 104 is used for the further applications of thewearable pad 100. In the exemplary embodiment, the loop material 104 ismanufactured using the loop side of a hook and loop fastener. The loopmaterial 104 is on top of the main pad 101 of the wearable pad 100 toallow for sufficient grasping of any mechanism (e.g., wearing mechanism)that may attach to it. Thus, depending on the mass and/or size of themechanism, the loop material 104 is constructed and placed accordingly.It should be noted that the use of the loop material 104 is onlyexemplary and that other methods for attaching a mechanism to thewearable pad 100 exist such as buttons, snaps, locks, etc.

The wings 105 and the thickeners 106 provide the ability to conformbetter (conformability) for the wearable pad 100 to be placed flushagainst any surface (i.e., no gaps between the wearable pad 100 and thesurface of the limb). The wings 105 are inherent when the shape of thewearable pad 100 exhibits a bow-tie shape (located on the corners of themain pad 101). The wings 105 include the thickeners 106. Thus, fourwings 105 and four thickeners 106 exist. In the exemplary embodiment,the thickeners 106 extend across the length of the wings 105 and createa local protrusion from the bottom side of the wearable pad 100. Thethickeners 106 may be manufactured using a compressible material. Thecompressible material may be, for example, spacer fabric. In theexemplary embodiment, the compressible material is designed to be easilycompressed but still maintain its original shape if not subject to apressure, therefore, functioning similarly to a cushion. In theexemplary embodiments, the thickeners 106 are disposed within the wings105 (i.e., between the main pad 101 and the breathable material 103). Itshould be noted that the thickeners 106 disposed within the wings 105 isonly exemplary and the thickeners 106 may be placed directly on thebottom side of the wings 105 of the main pad 101, on the top side of thewings 105 of the breathable material 103, etc. By being placed withinthe wings 105 of the wearable pad 100, a reduced thickness area existsbetween all the thickeners 106 (i.e., between two thickeners on oneshort side and between two thickeners on one long side). Those skilledin the art will understand that the reduced thickness areas will extendacross the middle of the length and width of the wearable pad 100. Thoseskilled in the art will also understand that the thickness of thereduced thickness areas will be substantially equal. However, it shouldbe noted that the thickness may be unequal depending on the furtherapplications (e.g., attaching the wearing mechanism) for the wearablepad 100.

In the exemplary embodiment, the edge banding 107 surrounds the borderof the wearable pad 100. Thus, the edge banding 107 may be used to holdthe components of the wearable pad 100. The edge banding 107 may bemanufactured of various materials that are bendable such as materialsused for the main pad 101 or the breathable material 103, polymers,plastics, etc. It should be noted that the use of the edge banding 107is only exemplary and the wearable pad 100 may be manufactured withoutthe edge banding 107. If the wearable pad is designed without the edgebanding 107, then the components may be held together using the abovedescribed conventional attachment methods.

In the exemplary embodiment, the wearable pad 100 may exhibit a totallength of 165 mm. The wearable pad 100 may exhibit a total width of 85mm. With these dimensions, the length between the two stiffeners shouldbe, at a minimum, 120 mm. It should be noted that these dimensions areexemplary only and that the wearable pad 100 may be designed with aspecific mobile computing device that attaches to it.

FIGS. 4 a-d show component layers of the wearable pad shown in FIGS.2-3. The layers of the wearable pad 100 will be described from the topside (e.g., FIG. 2) to the bottom side (e.g., FIG. 3). The wearable pad100 consists of four layers. FIG. 4 a illustrates the first layer 401which may include the stiffeners 102. FIG. 4 b illustrates the secondlayer 402 which may include the loop material 104. The second layer 402illustrates a hole in the middle where the top side of the main pad 101would exist upon assembly. FIG. 4 c illustrates the third layer 403which may include the thickeners 106. FIG. 4 d illustrates the fourthlayer 404 which may include the main pad 101. The first layer 401 isplaced on top of the second layer 402 which is placed on top of thethird layer 403 which is placed on top of the fourth layer 404.

FIG. 5 shows a cross sectional view of the wearable pad shown in FIGS.2-3. The cross sectional view 500 is taken across two wings 105 on theshorter side of the wearable pad 100 and in between the hole of the loopmaterial 104 and the stiffener 102. In the cross sectional view 500, theloop material 104 of the second layer 402 and the main pad 101 of thefourth layer 404 are in contact towards the middle of the wearable pad100. Towards the ends of the wearable pad 100, the thickeners 106 of thethird layer 403 are disposed in between the second layer 402 and thefourth layer 404. In addition, the edge banding 107 are placed at theends of the cross sectional 401 that holds all the components togetherat those ends. The inclusion of the thickeners 106 creates theprotrusions on the main pad 101. It should again be noted that the crosssectional view 500 is only exemplary and that other designs may exist.For example, the thickeners 106 may extend across the short length ofthe wearable pad 100 with a thicker region towards the ends (i.e.,within the wings 105).

FIGS. 6 a-b shows exemplary arms wearing the wearable holder pad shownin FIGS. 2-3. FIGS. 6 a-b illustrate a contrast between the same arms ofFIGS. 1 a-b wearing the wearable holder pad 100 of the presentinvention. FIGS. 6 a-b show the wearable pad 100 attached to the user'swrist. FIGS. 6 a-b illustrate a cross section of the arm and thethickeners 106 in use to adjust to the differences in arm girth. Thoseskilled in the art will understand that the wearable pad 100 ispositioned to be bending along the longitudinal axis of the user's wrist(not shown) along the longer side of the wearable pad 100. FIG. 6 ashows the thin arm 10 wearing the wearable pad 100. The wearable pad 100is flush against the surface of the skin on the thin arm 10. The use ofthe thickeners 106 (that are uncompressed) allows the gaps 40 that wouldnormally exist to be filled in. The wearable pad 100 being flush againstthe surface of the thin arm 10 also prevents any unwanted movement. Thewearable pad 100 is also flush against the surface of the skin on thickarm 20. The use of the thickeners 106 (that are compressed) allows thegap 50 that would normally exist to be filled in. Again, the wearablepad 100 being flush against the surface of the thick arm 20 prevents anyunwanted movement and is still comfortable. Those skilled in the artwill understand that the wearable pad 100 remains flush against thesurface extending along the length of the arm (e.g., increasing radiusof arm width), because the wearable pad 100 may adjust to an arm widthusing the thickeners 106.

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary use of the wearable pad shown in FIGS. 2-3.The exemplary use 700 shows a holder 108 that is placed on top of thewearable pad 100. The holder 108 is attached to the wearable pad 100using the loop material 104. Those skilled in the art will understandthat the holder 108 would use the complementary hook side of the hookand loop fastener. The holder 108 may further be used to attach, forexample, a mobile computing device.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications may be made in the present invention, without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that thepresent invention cover the modifications and variations of thisinvention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims andtheir equivalents.

1. A pad for interposition between a limb of a user and an apparatus tobe attached to the limb, the pad comprising: a first cushion elementextending along a first portion of a first side of the pad; and a secondcushion element extending along a first portion of a second side of thepad, the first and second cushion elements being separated from oneanother by a first reduced thickness area, wherein, when the pad ismounted in a desired orientation, the first reduced thickness areaextends between the first and second cushion elements substantiallyalong a longitudinal axis of the limb, and wherein, when the pad isinterposed between the limb and the apparatus attached thereto, the padis bent along the longitudinal axis and the first and second cushionelements are compressed so that the first and second cushion elementsand the reduced thickness area are in contact with the limb.
 2. The padaccording to claim 1, further comprising: a third cushion elementextending along a second portion of the first side of the pad; and afourth cushion element extending along a second portion of the secondside of the pad, the third and fourth cushion elements being separatedfrom one another by a second reduced thickness area which, when the padis mounted in a desired orientation, extends between the first andsecond cushion elements substantially along a longitudinal axis of thelimb.
 3. The pad according to claim 2, wherein the first and secondreduced thickness areas extend together to form a combined reducedthickness area extending substantially an entire length of the pad. 4.The pad according to claim 2, further comprising a third reducedthickness area which, when the pad is mounted in the desiredorientation, extends substantially perpendicular to the longitudinalaxis of the limb and a fourth reduced thickness area which, when the padis mounted in the desired orientation, extends substantiallyperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the limb, the third reducedthickness area separating the first cushion element from the thirdcushion element and the fourth reduced thickness area separating thesecond cushion element from the fourth cushion element.
 5. The padaccording to claim 4, wherein the third and fourth reduced thicknessareas extend together to form a combined reduced thickness areaextending substantially an entire width of the pad.
 6. The pad accordingto claim 2, wherein a thickness of the first reduced thickness area issubstantially equal to a thickness of the second reduced thickness area.7. The pad according to claim 4, wherein a thickness of the thirdreduced thickness area is substantially equal to a thickness of thefourth reduced thickness area.
 8. The pad according to claim 2, whereineach of the first, second, third and fourth cushion elements is situatedin a corresponding corner of the pad.
 9. The pad according to claim 2,wherein each of the first, second, third and fourth cushion elementsextend out of a bottom side of the pad.
 10. The pad according to claim2, wherein each of the first, second, third and fourth cushion elementsare substantially compressed when the limb is thick, thereby eliminatinggaps between the pad and the limb.
 11. The pad according to claim 2,wherein each of the first, second, third and fourth cushion elements areslightly compressed when the limb is thin, thereby eliminating gapsbetween the pad and the limb.
 12. The pad according to claim 1, whereinthe apparatus is one of permanently and temporarily attached to the pad.13. A pad for interposition between a limb of a user and an apparatus tobe attached to the limb, the pad comprising: a first cushion elementextending along a first corner of the pad; a second cushion elementextending along a second corner of the pad, a third cushion elementextending along a third corner of the pad; and a fourth cushion elementextending along a fourth corner of the pad, wherein the pad has asubstantially rectangular shape so that the first cushion element andthe fourth cushion element lie on a first diagonal of the pad and thesecond cushion element and the third cushion element lie on a seconddiagonal of the pad, and wherein, when the pad is interposed between thelimb and the apparatus attached thereto, the pad is bent along alongitudinal axis of the limb and the first, second, third and fourthcushion elements are compressed.
 14. The pad according to claim 13,wherein the first and second cushion elements are separated by a firstreduced thickness area and the third and fourth cushion elements areseparated by a second reduced thickness area.
 15. The pad according toclaim 14, wherein the first and second reduced thickness areas extendtogether to form a combined reduced thickness area extendingsubstantially an entire length of the pad.
 16. The pad according toclaim 14, wherein a thickness of the first reduced thickness area issubstantially equal to a thickness of the second reduced thickness area.17. The pad according to claim 13, wherein the first and third cushionelements are separated by a third reduced thickness area and the secondand fourth cushion elements are separated by a fourth reduced thicknessarea.
 18. The pad according to claim 17, wherein the third and fourthreduced thickness areas extend together to form a combined reducedthickness area extending substantially an entire width of the pad. 19.The pad according to claim 17, wherein a thickness of the third reducedthickness area is substantially equal to a thickness of the fourthreduced thickness area.
 20. A pad for interposition between a limb of auser and an apparatus to be attached to the limb, the pad comprising: afirst side means having a first portion; a second side means having asecond portion, separating the first portion being separated from thesecond portion by an area; and a cushioning means extending along thefirst portion and the second portion, wherein, when the pad isinterposed between the limb and the apparatus attached thereto, the padis bent along a longitudinal axis of the limb and the cushioning meansplaces the first side, the second side, and the area in contact with thelimb.